The Sun. — London, England, 1864-05-23 00:00:00

AMERICA. REUTER'S TELEGRAMS. The royal mail steamship Europa, from Boston on the 11th, and Halifax on the 13th, arrived at Queenstown at 5 p.m. on the 22d inst. She brings 98 passengers and 42,455 dollars in specie. The Europa landed 128 sacks of mails and seven p , as• sengers, and proceeded for Liverpool at 5.15 r bm , ; all well. NEW YORK, May 10 (Evenhg). Gen. Grant fought two severe battles in Wilder ness on the 6th and 6th inst., but no official reports have as yet been published of these encounters. Secretary Stanton has issued a bulletin stating that the general results might be considered as a success to the Federal arms. The fighting on the 6th was the most desperate that has been known in modern times. A large number of prisoners have been both lost and cap tured. Nearly the whole of the 7th Pennsylvania Regiment was taken. Gen. Wadsworth has been killed. After the battle of the 6th Gen. Lee commenced a retreat during the Bight by the direct road, and on the 7th Gen. Grant began the pursuit. Gen. Hancock passed through Spottsylvania Court-house on the Bth, and on the same day Grant's headquar ters were 20 miles south of the battlefield of the 6th. President Lincoln has issued a proclamation stat ing that sufficient was known of the Federal opera. tions to give cause for special gratitude to God, anti recommending all patriots to return thanks to 11,1 m. Congratulatory visits were paid by the Washington citizens to the President, when he made a speech, in which he said that, although Grant had met with stubborn resistance, he was not forced back from the line of operations on which he had started, but was aivancing on the line he had marked out before the movement commenced. Correspondents furnish the following particu lars : In the battle of the sth General Sedgwick ad vanced on the centre, General Hancock on the left, and General Warren on the centre. Strong resist- ante was offered by the Confederates under Generals Hill, Longstreet, and Ewell, and fighting continued along the whole Federal line until nightfall. In this day's battle the Confederates are reported to have captured nearly the whole of two Federal bri gades, together with their commanders—Seymour and Shaler. On the 6th the engagement was re • newed, and continued throughout the day with little abatement. Ia the forenoon Hancock was driven back, the Confederates repossessing themselves of some of the ground lost on the previous day. Sedg wick, on the right, was thrown into confusion, but reformed, supported by Burnside's reserve. Late in the day the Confederates pierced the Federal cen tre, pushing the Federals so far back as nearly to detach their right wing. At the close of the even ing the advantage appeared to be,on the aide of the Confederates. Oa the night of the 6th Grant transferred the 6th corps from the right to the extreme left and consoli dated his lines. Lee commenced retreating during the night, and on the following day the firing was of a desultory nature, both armies manoeuvring, Grant advancing his troops on the Spottsylvania Coart-house road. In the afternoon Lee's whole force was in full retreat, in good order, to take up another line of defence. It was supposed that Lee would halt on the North Anna River. The Federal losses in both days' battles are esti mated at from 8,000 to 12,000 men hors de combat. A telegram from the Medical Director announced that from 6,000 to 8,000 wounded were being sent on to Washington. In his official report of the battle of the 6th Gene- ral Lee says:— " Our loss in killed is large, but we have not many wounded. General Longstreet is severely wounded, Pegram badly wounded, and Jenkins killed." He thanks God that every advance of Grant had been repulsed. Fort Powhattan,Wilson's Wharf, and City Point, on the JAmes River, had been occupied by General Butler without resistance, and on the 9th the same General reports that he had advanced up the Pen insula with 1,700 coloured cavalry, crossing the Cuickahominy to take up positions. As the Fede rals advanced on Richmond 3,000 cavalry from Suffolk crossed the Blackwater River and burnt the railroad bridge below Petersburg, thereby sepa rating Beauregard's forces at Petersburg. One p3rtion of Beauregard's forces was beaten by Butler after severe fighting. Butler has ordered up sup plies, saying he can hold his position against Lee's whole army. He says Grant will not be troubled with reinforcements to Lee from Br•auregard. General Sherman has occupied Tunnel-hill, and General Johnston is in position at Buzzard Roost Pass, north of Dalton. Sherman is now fighting for posession of Rocky Face Ridge. Macpherson has taken Snake Creek Gap, and is within seven miles of Result, in Johnston's rear, Scolefield flank ing Johnston from Cleveland, From the Red River accounts continue more dis astrous to the Federal arms. The Confederate ram off Newbora is reported to have sunk. The New York Chamber of Commerce has ap pointed a committee to receive subscriptions to pay the interest of the State debt to foreigners in coin. COMMERCIAL INTELLIGENCE. Cotton quiet—middling upland, 83e. Petroleum —crude, 381 e. ; refined, 56c. (BY TELEGRAPH TO HALIFAX ) NEW YORK, May 12, Morning, Money abundant. Gold, 69 ptr cent. premium, Exchange oa London, 186. Stocks firm, and advancing. New York Centrals, 1301 ; Illinois, 1241 ; Erie, 169,1 ; Six per Cent, United States' Bonds, 1061. MAY 11, 6 a.m. Mr. Stanton reports that in General Grant's de spatches, dated the 9th, afternoon, it is stated that Lee made a stand at Spottsylvania Court-house. Hard fighting occurred, but no general engagement ensued. General Sedgwick was killed by sharpshooters. On the 9th Grant showed no signs of renewing the attack, being engaged in r e plenishing his stor es from the supply train, in order to be able to advance without that encumbrance. Generals Getty, Talbot, Morris, Robinson, and Baxter have been wounded. Correspondents state the sth Federal Army Corps to have been engaged on the Bth inst. three miles north of Spottsylvania Court-house with General Ewell and part of Longatreet's corps, which had reached Spottaylvania by an inn e r road. The Federals held their position, but suffere4 heavily in killed and wounded. Grant is reported to be two miles north of Spott sylvania Court-house, with Lee in his front, Ewell holding the heights north of that place. Grant's losses are now estimated at 27,000 men. It is reported that General Butler PM engaged yesterday, and that an engagement also took pl ace between the iron-clads on James River. On the 10th inst. General Grant fought another sanguinary battle with Lee, which lasted from the afternoon until dark. Grant's lines extended six mites along the north-east bank of the river Po, the Confederates occupying the south-east bank and the village of Spottsylvania. The attack was nom-. menoed by the artillery of General Grant. Towards dark Burnside was ordered, to charge the Confede rate right flank, when it was discovered that Lee had advanced round the Federal right link, and was mov i n g down to break through Grant's Lines, and had captured the supply trains in th e Frede ricksburg plAnk-road. This checked Barnside's intended movement , and he held his ground, threatening the Confederate right, while the Sixth Corps charged the Confederate centre, drivieg the enemy from their first line of rifle pits and ° l o ur _ ing 2,000 prisoners, In coniequence of Lee's movement Grant placed his troops about, and having moved his trains to the rear, secured a new position for his artillery; bat Lee did not follow up the movement. During the night he was reported to be moving. On the 11th Burnside advanced and occupied Spottsylvania Coart-home, driving forces before him, Grant's iosses 3re now catinvittd to have reached 40,000 in killed, wounded, and missing. General Warren is reported to be killed. Johnston's position at Been° has been found too strong for att,sok, IVENING. No resort has been received of the battle being renew e d at Spottsylvania on the 11th: Lee is reported to be in a very strong position, behind earthworks and woods. The occupation of Spottsylvania by Burnside has not been confirmed. _ _ The Federal depot for the wounded is at Frede ricksburg. The Africa, City of Manchester, and North American have arrived out. COMMERCIAL INTELLIGENCE. Gold fluctuated yesterday and to-day between 77 and 72 per cent. premium, and closes to-day at a premium of 75 per cent. Exchange on London, 188 to 190. Stooks slightly firmer. New York Centrals, 1311; Illinois, 125; Erie, 110; Six per Cent. United States Bonds, 1061. Cotton slightly firmer, middling upland, 85c. to 86c. Flour quiet. Wheat advancing. Corn better. Provisions steady. Coffee quiet. Sugar firmer. Molasses quiet. Petroleum—crude, 3710.; refined, 571 c. to 58c. Naval and Military Intelligence. THE NAVY. On Friday afternoon, the 13th inst., five large ships be longing to the Channel squadron, under command of Rear- Admiral S. C. Dacres, C. 8., arrived in Plymouth Sound from the Downs. Although it was the period of neap tides, they were safely navigated one at a time, and a high water permitted, through the narrows into Hamoaze, and placed in the various docks in the arsenals at Devonport and Key ham. The water was then pumped out, the bottoms of the ships ware cleansed and recoated, the valves were over hauled, and all the necessary interior alterations were made; the water was lot into the ducks osoin, and on Saturday last the ships resumed their moorings in Plymouth Sound, fully prepared for any contingency, The depth of water in the harbour, the value of the recent enlargement of the docks, and other improvements at Plymouth, have thus been tested most satisfactorily; but it was only through the energy of the Harbour master, the Master attendant, and the officers and artisans of the establishment, cordially aided by the commanders and crews of the ships, that so much has been done in so short a time. The Controller of the Navy, Rear-Admiral Spencer Robinson, has been in frequent personal consultation with Rear-Admiral Sy monds, C. 8., superintendent of the yard, and the services of the electric wire in connection with Whitehall have been in constant requisition. The flagship Edgar, 71, Capt. G. T. Hornby was placed in No 2 dock at Keyham, where her copper was cleansed from all the slime and weed which had accumulated during thellast 12 months. The iron built screw steamship Black Prince, Capt. James F. W. Wain wright, was placed in the Prince's Dock at Devonport, out of which she was taken in November, 1863. Her bottom was tolerably free; it was scoured, and received another coating of Hay's composition. Her frame ap pears to have sustained its original condition unbroken — the sights on deck proved her to be precisely the sam e in dock as when afloat. According to Admiralty order, the ponderous screw, 35 tons, was lifted and refixed. The pine lining of the ammunition-room has been replaced with teak, and her engineers have been supplied with the new regulation lanterns. The screw steamship Warrior, 40, Capt. the Hon. Arthur A. Cochrane, undertook in Novem ber, 1863, was placed in the Queen's Dock at Keyham, which has just been lengthened, She received another stating of Hay's composition ; her screw was lifted, and some eight or ten Armstrong guns, the copper lining of the chambers of which was defective, were exchanged for ethers differently lined. During the last cruise she was trimmed three feet by the stern. The enlargement of her rudder has proved satisfactory. Although of the same size, 6,loo:tons, and having engines of the same power, 1,250 horses, both by Penn and Sons, she has always beaten her sister ship, the Black Prince (which is 8 feet longer), whether under steam or canvass. Her commission will terminate in August next, but her hull and dngines appear to be suf ficiently sound to undertake another commission. The arrior has not " broken" in dock a quarter of an inch. Her engines have been supplied with some spare propeller brasses; the lignum vitro for the banjo propeller frame con tinues in good order. Experienced engineers consider that both the Black Prince and the Warrior would work better with a fixed four-bladed screw like that of the Achilles, by the adoption of which also the weight of the screw sheers, four tons, and the banjo frame, seven tons, right aft, would be avoided. The Defence, 16, Capt. Augustus Phillimore (undocked in October last), was placed in No. 1 dock in the Devonport-yard, where her coating of Peacock's composi tion was renewed. She is termed a " good ship." Under canvass, her sister, the Resistance, 17, is the swifter of the two. Her officers consider that the frame of the Defence and her interior fittings are heavier-than those of the Resist ance. The iron- cased ship Prince Consort, 3.5, Captain George G. Willes, C. 8., which was also undocked in Octo ber, 1863, was placed in No, 1 dock at Keyham. Her con- dition excited considerable interest, from the fact that after her memorable trip to Dublin last year it was discovered that galvanic action had already set in on the iron plates. Tc prevent the continuance of this evil, the upper layer of her Muntz's metal was stripped cff, and immediately below the iron plates a cutting, 4 inches deep, was made in the plank all round the ship, and a band of zinc, 1i inch thick and 4 inches wide, was inserted. The iutermediate thick ness, 2i inches, was filled in with plank after the heads of her copper bolts had been struck off. This band would have been 6 inches wide, but for the risk of disturbing a much larger number of copper bolts. The Lords of the Admiralty consider the results of the experiment sufficiently satisfac tory to justify them in their determination to place a zinc band 12 inches wide round the iron cased cupola ship Royal Sovereign, 5, at Portsmouth. It is considered at Devonport that by cutting out so much of a ship's original planking immediately under the lowest tier of iron plates that tier is left almost entirely dependent on the support of its bolts, as the original wooden foundation is to a great extent removed, Her Majesty's corvette Wolverine, 21, Capt. De Hcosey, still remains in the river off Woolwich dockyard. Her de lay is occasioned by the necessity of retur,ing the whole of her :;nain cables, and supplying otl , Are in their place, to - work more freely over the capstans. Her present orders are to join the Channel, and proceed eventually to the West India station. The Swedish screw corvette Gefie, 16, Capt Adeborg, from Cherbourg for Stockholm, put into Great Yarmouth roadstead last week for coal. On receiving supplies she pro. ceded on her voyage, THE ARMY. Prince Arthur and his cousin, Prince Adolphus Frede rick of Mecklenburg trelitz, attended by Major Elphin stone, R.A., paid a morning visit on Saturday to Woolwich Arsenal, and were rec,ived with Royal honours. They went over the whole establishment, examining each branch with great attention. They entered first the dial square, or foun dry branch of the Royal gun factories, where they were shown a huge slab of iron weighing 75 tons, cast on the pre ceding day, and intended as a block for one of the 14 ton steam hammers used in making the coiled guns. They next visited the gun factories, and remained there a considerable time, inspecting the new 7 inch and 9 inch naval guns in course of manufacture. They also witnessed, with much apparent interest, the operations at the coiling and welding forges, boring mills, sighting and view rooms, &C.) inspected the sealed pattern rooms and gun stores, and proceeded through the shell factories, carriage department, gun. mounting sb ed, laboratory, papermill, &0., and left for Greenwich Park at 1. On Thursday afternoon their Royal highnesses went up the river from Woolwich Dockyard on a trial trip of the first new twin screw steam launch, built for th e iron ship Minotaur, and fitted with a moveable engine by Messrs. Mandalay, Sons, and Field. They afterwards visited the dockyard and the ships in pro gress. Col. Guy, C. 8., comma n d ant at the camp at Colchester, completed on Thursday the official half- yearly inspection of the troops by visiting the battalion schools and witnessing swot d exercise among the officers. The results of the in spection have been generally satisfactory. Col. Sir D. Wood, li MI, and. hea dquarters, together with Major Reilly's and Lieut.-Col. Mitchell's batteries of the B brigade, Royal Horse Artillery, are under orders to leave Woolwich and commence their much on June 1 k ir the camp at Aldershott. _ On Friday last Col. Hine, Bth ll.:saerci th l , Government pensioners.vernlliellt in of specting officer of pensioners, revvz the Nottingham district in ;,no park adjoining the town. About 408 were p res ent; After the inspection had ter_ Col. Hin e c - j , plimented Col. Storer, commander of the pensioner;, on having the honour to command such a fine body of veterans. He said that his report of their efff cienq would be favourable. [ADVERTISEXENT.i—Consumption, all nervous, bilious, liver, and stomach complaints, in every stage, are only ag p-avatel and accelerated by drugs of every description, but perfectly curable by Du fsarry's health restoring Revalenta Arabica Food, as proved by thousands of cases which had been considered hopeless. We quote a few.—Cure No. 62,014. Miss Lange, 18 years of age, cured after the medical men had abandoned all hopes of her recovery from the last stage of Pulmonary consumption, with fearful cough, expectoration, exhaustion, spitting of blood, perspirations, hollow cheeks, emaciated to a skeleton. She is now, thank God, aperfectly healthy, blooming, fleshy girl.—N. Lange, Commissaire . de Pd bliss ,eorliacneg.euiCeurntme, and partial 46,270. Mr. James Roberts, of lermi . ley Surrey, of thirty years' diseased lungs, spittinc; of blood, liver dsjppatiaorarrir torpidity d Tta d t: e ai d n e s Elizabeth Jacobs, of extreme nervousness, indigestion. 054 g gatherings , l i h n l e6 d i r n g t' lowo . Ibe e a and BnervousCurfea:c Co. 12 ur t e, lis 121 b, 225; 241 b, 40s. Ba Comt all medical treatment . In tins, 11b 2s ' 9d 9d; 21b, 45 6d • 51b itegeni-stree, London also Fortunni arc" eleilvierFwakheinchhahmad' Norfolk,resisted du ' Barry on; a N n i o d . 7 ,1 7 i grocers and chemists in every town of th e tjaired PRUSSIA, The following, being the official tent of the de spatch forwarded to the Prussian Ambassador in London by Herr von Bismarck on the 15th inst., as announced by telegraph, has been received at Mr. Renter's office Berlin, May 15, As it is to be foreseen that the question of the position of the two German Powers with regard to the London Treaty of 1852 will be brought forward at the approaching aittitgs of the Conference, I find it requisite to make the following remarks upon the subject : Up to the death of King Frederick VII, the G erman Powers were able to expect that the iirovra of Denmark would fulfil the obligations It . nad undertaken to wards them, and that by this meets, and by a presentation of a succession law to the Estates of the Duchies—which has not even yet taken place —the order of succession aimed at by the London Treaty would be placed in a perfectly legal position before the anticipated case of the demise of the Crown actually occurred. These expectations were not only frustrated by the death of the King, but his successor upon the Danish throne im mediately proclaimed his intelition, by the Act of Nov. 18, not to comply with those obligations. The Government of the King immediately called atten tion to the connection of these obligations with the intended order of. succession, with regard to which I need only refer to my despatch No. 487, of Nov. 23, and repeatedly declared that it should theretore consider itself justified in regarding the Treaty of 1852 as no longer bindinglupon Prussia. That she did not instantly proclaim her withdrawal from that ar rangement was owing solely to regard for the remaining Powers, and to hope that Denmark's yielding, by receding from the open breach of her obligations, would re-establish the preliminary conditions and afford the possibility of the maintenance of peace. Even when this hope was deceived, when the constitu tion for Schleswig, opposed to the treaty, not only remained unretracted upon the Ist January, but then came into operation, the two German Powers were un willing to make any immediate use cf their rights. Even at the moment when they were forced to adopt warlike measures against Denmark, they declared in the despatch of the 31st January of the present year that they did not intend to attack the principle of the integrity of the Danish monarchy. But they at the same time expressly stated that Denmark's further persistence in the course she had adopted would compel them to sacrifices which would render it their duty to give up the combinations of 1852, and to endeavour to come to an understanding upon some other arrangement with the signatories of the London Treaty. This case has completely occurred. The Danish Govern ment has carried its persistence in denial to the utmost, and has continued armed resistance to the last. After all these occurrences the Government of the King cannot consider itself in any way longer bound by the obli gations as contracted on the Bth May, 1852, under other circumstances, Prussia concluded this treaty with Den mark, and not with the other Powers; the ratifications were only exchanged between Copenhagen and Berlin, not between Berlin and London, or St. Petersburg. Even if, which we do not admit, the London Treaty had been in tended to create obligations between us and the neutral Powers, these would become void together with the treaty as soon as the latter lapsed through non•fulfilment of its preliminary conditions. The Government of the King therefore considers itsel in accordance with the declaration of Jan. 31, entirely free from all obligations which could be deduced from the Lon don Treaty of 1852, and justified in discussing any other combination quite independent of that treaty. It results from the nature of political relations that the solution of a question, the European bearing of which the Government of the King has never undervalued, should be attempted in common with the other great Powers, and this natural consequence is recognised by the Government in the concluding sentence of the declaration of January 31. By accepting the English invitation to the Conference the Government of the King has given pooof of its readi ness to seek for and discuss in common the means for this purpose ; and this and nothing else can be the task of the Conference. (Signed) VON BISMARCK. The Schleswig-Holstein Question, -4- Tho following is a copy of a declaration which has been presented to the Conference by his High- ness the Duke Frederic of Schleswig-Holstein : The approaching re-union of a conference, summoned to deliberate on the means of restoring peace to the North of Europe, induces me to make a statement of my rights which are inseparable from those of my country, and the recog nition of which can alone bring about a durable peace. I acknowlege the generous intentions of the Great Powers to terminate the present effusion of blood. An assembly of European representative is undoubtedly fully authorised to make common efforts for attaining so noble an aim. Still such an assembly is necessarily limited in its attributions, and cannot decide upon the destinies of a sovereign and of a country, without having obtained their participation. and consent. By the demise of his Majesty the King, Duke Frederic VII., Providence called me to the throne of the Duchies of Schleswig and Holstein. The right of succession, which I claim as representative of the eldest line of the House of Oldenburg, is conformatle to the law of all Germany, and of those European countries in which the inheritance to the throne follows the agnatic principle. Agnation succes sion, by order of line and primogeniture, has been esta blished for the Duchies, not only by the statutes of the reigning house, but still more by pacts concluded between the reigning family and the Estates. It has, moreover, been observed, as a law, during a series of centuries, and serves es the basis of public law in the Duchies. Upon this basis repose the claims of the Duchies to their union and their autonomy. The validity of my rights exis's independently of the recognition of any foreign Powers. It is an absolutely do mestic question. Consequently the Treaty of London of the Bth of May, 1552, Cannot alter or affect the identical rights of my family and my country. The carrying out of that treaty would, on the contrary, infringe the sacred rights of crowned heads and of populations. The treaty never received the adhesion of the agnates, nor that of the representative bodies, condi tions il.'nerent to the treaty itself. His Majesty the King of Denmark has never fulfilled them with regard to the Duchies, although he has accomplished them in part with respect to Denmark; neither has the Germanic Confedera tion, whose mission it is to protect the members which compose it, adhered thereto. Engraven in the conscience of the people, and considered to be the condition of its public prosperity, my right con stitutes itself a power. In 1846, when the Court of Copen hagen showed the desire to:assimilate the laws of succession in the Duchies and in the Kingdom of Denmark, it alone was able to excite immediately general agitation and resist. ante. "When a little time after the Danish Government threatened to abolish in the Duchies the succession in ag natic order, and to unite Schleswig to Denmark, the entire population of the two Duchies took up arms in defence of their independence. In the sanguinary struggle, which lasted three successive years, the population furnished proofs that its own rights and those of ita princes shall be held by it ever sacred. It was these same principles of legitimacy and national independence which, at the death of his Majesty the King, Duke Frederic VII., caused a general movement to take place. The great majority of the national functionaries re fused the oath of fidelity to an illegitimate sovereign. Po pular agitation already threatened to assume a warlike atti tude when the Federal troops and the armies of the great Powers deliveried the Duchies from the Danish yoke. The population, once more their own masters, destroyed the en signs of foreign royalty in presence even of a hostile army. A part of the country proclaimed my rights. The war con' tinues at present its sanguinary course. By whatever one pleases to designate it, it is in its nature and origin a war of succession. Declarations on the part of the representative bodies, those of the several corporal:fate, as well as the homage paid me by the inhabitants in general, leave no doubt that In despite ior the difficulties accruing from the situation of Europe, neither the population nor 'myself will eVer renounce Our legitimate right. In presence of such unanimity it can no longer be questioned that a claim so identical with the interests of the country, and so baked on the conscience of the public, must be of invincible force. I feel fully aware of the responsibility that I have taken upon myself in proclaiming my rights in presence of my people. Did it concern merely my person and my family I should have hesitated, if not in presence of future dangers, at leP,ia in that of an imminent effusion of blood. But the firm conviction that my rights form the basis of the liberty and happiness of the people of Schleswig Holstein has guided me in every act since the death of Frederick VII. During all time, indeed, a profound antipathy has existed, notwithstanding affinity of race, between the inhabitants of Schleswig Holstein and those of Denmark. The history of the preceding eight centuries bears sanguinary traces of it. Under whatever form of government it has been at tempted to unite the two peoples it has always failed. The go ~Z e r ri es l s n i l : t ty r im an p n o y se w d h u i p ch oil d t i h d e no p t u r c e h s is p e ect in ei l t B h s e 2 r the led s t c o n ho a ol or the Church. The people of Schleswig-Holstein consider their inde pendence as the only guarantee of the future. Any other arrangement can merely aliment a new conflict, and provoke disastrous troubles. The separation of the Duchies from Denmark is thus de manded, not only by the principles of legitimacy and legality, but also by the exigencies of humanity and uni versal peace. Even supposing that one might succeed by force to replace the Duchies under the Danish yoke, they would not fail to seize the first opportunity to shake off a rule as odious as unrighttul. As to myself, I should con sider it my duty to summon them at the fit moment to arms, If, in spite of the spontaneous and non-official manifes tations of populations and actual representatives, Europe should still entertain doubts of the veritable opinion of the country, and should still cling to historic right, nothing can be more equitable than to appeal to the official manifes tations of the will of the country. There are different mod-)s of eecertaining what ar© its For my part I object to none, provided the indu, by their various rechauffes ,-;.: iliewselves in diffe- . rent costumes those who come willing and anxious to " make believe very much" as the Marchioness said to Mr. Swiveller about her diluted beer, cer tainly do not attempt to furnish any very refined species of amusement. For any one, however, who will sit out the dinner for the sake of the dessert, there is reierted a rare and, in its light way, even subtle enjoyment. The teat half hour of the "en tertainment is more than entertaining ; it is au achievement which not only illustrates, it teen* l the very meaning we attac h t o the p hrase "plastic" art. Mr. John Parry—whom we Cali recollect, we should thihki twbrity Years ar singing that ordia narily vulgar species of song called e‘ coif" with a hrtmodr and expression that allied them to comedy rather than farce—Conies on ,to the scene alone and in his own dads, and tella the tiadiance that he is going to introduce them to Mrs. Roieleare evening party. It may possibly slightly help the illusion, he says, if, when he represents Mrs. Roseleaf herself, he takes up a fan and bouquet which he shows us lying on the piano, but he will not need any other aid at all from costume. Thus much he says simply in his own person, and the audience have time, while he is saying it, to notice a face somewhat wan, rather weary, yet with a colour slightly hectic, perfectly refined, and yet with something of that expression of mental bareness—of thought and emotion with the bloom off by being laid bare to others—which we somehow associate with a cha racteristic roundness, baldness, and absence of cross lines of thought or feeling on the face. No face could be imagined that offers at the first glance less ea......____ promise of flexibility. You would say of it—as THE "SATURDAY REVIEW" ON THE PRINCE OP Shake ere said of the elephant — that " i t s le g s are WALES AT THE LITERARY FUND DINNER.—The legs for necessity, not for flexure,"—that its lines London season would be incomplete without the of expression are lines for necessity, not for flexure. Royal Academy Dinner and the Literary Fund You have scarcely made up your mind that it is so, Dinner. There is a common nature belonging to when Mr Parry sits down to the piano, and his face these two national institutions, for such they are, at once assumes that stolid expression of hired though there is a great difference between the drudgery, of business islanded in the amusement of artists entertaining thei r p a t rons and friends of others, which, without an explanation, declares to literature eating, drinking, and spesohifying in be- every- one the professional pianist engaged for an half of an admirable charity for the worn-out pens evening party at which there are to be a few qua and dried ink bottles of the day. What they have drilles. While thus playing Mr. Parry announces in common is that the notables of social rank, the the names of a few guests succeeding one another, statesmen a nd political men, the writers and artists and presently rising from the piano he takes up his of the time are expected on these occasions to deliver bouquet and fan, and the stolid persistency of the themselves of set orations in praise of art and letters. hired musician is suddenly transformed into the There is not a little interest in all this. The engaging suavity and complaisance of a lady-like country lectures at th e local Athenme delivered by hostess. Mrs Roseleaf is a thorough lady, slightly holiday-making M.P.as have their value. One affected indeed, but with the affectation arising from sometimes laughs at the parturient pains of a coon- an excessive audibility, not from any tinge of vul try gentleman delivering himself of a sort of would- garity. There is nothing very original in any be academical eloge, and uttering the improptu thing she says—" Tlais is a pleasure indeed—so kind reminiscences of history and classics for which he of you to come , " and so forth ; bu t the s p ectator is furtively indebt e d t o the curat e o f th e par i s h, gazing through the best of opera glasses at the But all this tends t o k e ep up at least the preten- sion of an educated s t an dard ; and as e very noble- gentleman in plain black clothes who is baying all this, can hardly persuade himself it is a gen man of mark and every Cabinet Minister is always tleman at all, and not Mrs. Roseleaf. Indeed, expected to be ready with some reminiscences of so strong is the illusion that when we come general reading and literary or artistic talk at one away and recall the scene in memory, it is the or other of the twin London dinners, the Literary hardest thing in the world to believe we have Fond anniversa r y h as it s value. The charity which seen only one actor throughou t, and that it represents i s we ll an d usefully conduct e d; and though an attempt was unsuccessfully made a few actor a gentleman not in disguise. Presently Mrs Roseleaf inquires after the baby of one of her years ago to discredit its management, general con- guests, and the reply indistinctly murmured is re fidence is felt i n its efficiency. On Wednesday the fleeted with such extraordinary vividness in the Prince of Wales commenced what we may almost dropping lines of unspeakable concern in her face, call his public life by presiding at this dinner. that you know it must have been croup of a more The occasion must have been a very trying one. than ordinarily dangerous kind. When the answer These celebrations are attended by an exacting toithe next inquiry after a second childagain length and critical, though generous, audience. Men not ens out the face, it is to a less degree, and you see only of mark, but of tried eloquence, and long ex- the amiable hostess's desire to blend her sympathy perience in sitting at the middle of a great cross- with the cheering playfulness appropriate to the table, would find on this special occasion a difficult occasion when ;her guests are not, after all, in too task before them. The Prince of Wales had to much alarm to come to her party; and so with ,a make his debut, not only as a Chairman and a pleasant regret of expression she slides back speech-maker, but as a public man. It is an odd through some s uch remark as " Sad indeed, why way that we have of introducing the Heir of E n g. you have had quite a sick house," to her gentle land or the Consort of the Queen to the duties of company-smile. Then she introduces her little station and responsibility by asking him to make a daughter to her friend, and the pleasant company speech on books and bookmakers in general. But smile grows tender with the illusions of maternal 1 the son had only to follow his father's admirable pride. The daughter is, of course, present only to example. It were, of course, invidious to compare the spiritual gaze of the spectator, but few who re- Prince Albert and the Prince of Wales on a similar call the scene will find it easy to persuade them occasion. Prince Albert's mind was cast in the selves that the little girl was only suggested to professorial mould. Set speeches and occasional them, and no more there than any other of the spoken essays of the formal and academic type— shadowy actors. While being praised for decorous Papers, for such they were, carefully elaborated and pretty behaviour, the young lady snatches at and thought over—were eminently suited to his the fan or the bouquet, and the mother's pride in cast of thought. His education had fitted him to her good conduct changes gently into playful amuse compose and deliver them;. and a powerful and re. meat at her childish tricks. Then the little girl flective mind, deeply impressed with the delicate retires and the party grows denser. You can see responsibilities of his station, and perfectly aware that Mrs. Roseleaf moves about with greater diffia that he had many prejudices to combat, was spurred culty and more anxious sense of responsibility. She by the opportunity of making a public speech. It prevails on a Mr Jane to sing, and the fan and was by his public speeches that the late Prince bouquet vanishing, we suddenly behold Mrs. Rose- Consort slowly won his way, first to the attention, leaf no more, but a vain and self absorbed young then to the respect, and lastly toths admiration of the man of muddy sentiment, awkwardly conscious of country. The same inducements to a special energy literary pretensions, and with a stooping gait, who, are not necessary in the Prince of Wales's case. with a glass in his eye, is watching discontentedly His education had been different from that of his for an admiration which he does not seem to receive. father. What is wanted in a contlitutional Sove- The extraordinary expression of turbid fermenting reign is not so much genius and deep wisdom as vanities—not complaisant nor self-assured, bat ease, a thorough sense of responsibility, good taste, suddenly exigeant, which now passes over the actor's and right feeling. Splendid abilities are almost face is ag ain com p letel y transforming; age, chae out of place in our Sovereigns. The Prince of Wales meter, everything is absolutely changed; the scum exhibited these qualities both of mind and character of gloomy hoobbledehoy is'n conceit spreads like an in all that he is reported to have said on 'Wednesday unclear fluid over the whole face. He sings his evening. He went in a business-like way to the song , " Would y ou love me, if you knew me ?" purpose of the meeting, and we all like to see (" Words and music both my own," as he blurts common sense taking the practical view of things. outs with a gloomy and clumsy vanity at the con- After all, the Literary Fund is simple in its objects. elusion), interrupted by numerous announcements It gives to decayed and poor authors some little of successive guests, at each of which Mr. Jens solace and comforts in age and sickness ;it gives darts furious glances tow ards the door—and at the aid secretly; its almoners are men of honour ; and end sceffi2s away from the piano with sulky eyes, its managers know that letters would be dishon- at one inflicting retribution, and searching the com oared by the popular arts of begging, and by popu- piny for traces of admiration—amidst the profuse lar reports and eloquent secretarial talk. The Prince thanks and apologies of Mrs. Roseleaf. Then Mrs. of Wales said this, and, because it was a simple Roseleaf consults her husband as to the next part thing to say, he said it simply and without affecta- of the programme, and decides to get the Faienzas tion. There was good taste in avoiding the style to sing. The Fluenzas, h o wever, are obviously of an undergraduate's theme on the objects, plea - divided from her b y a great crush, though no men, sures, and advantages of learning in general; and tion is made of it—and the inimitable company there were too many old stagers present, who had p la y fulness with which she peeps through an acci themselves prolusionised in rectorial addresses and dental vista in the crowd and wafts with sweetest lectures at country institutes, for the Prince to have fascination and smiling menace, threatening a re any chance in the high style of platitude and con- quest, the words, "I'm coming to yo u," over the ventional rhetoric. And there was good taste , a nd intervenin g space, is one of the most effective good feeling also, in the brief but sincere tribut e to touches in the piece. Mr. Fluenza has a fearful his father's memory, and to his father's appeara nce i cold, and complying at his wife's instance gets on a former occasion of the same nature. Altogether through a single line of modulated cou g h—on which the Prince achieved a marked succeed, if succ ess Mr. and Mrs. Roseleaf interchange with each other consists in having a sufficient purpose, and in a very expressive sentence or two of condolence— attainington, a yotiag lady . of conscious attractions, who it. The Heir to the Throne of England and then we are introduced to . Miss Flora Gushing has a part to play, or rather a function to discharge, eleaf—and whose sweet and axewhich is not without its difficulties ; but those difß.• sings an Italian duet with an admirer at the ur culties are best got over by perfect and entire sin- request of Mr. Ros for . . cerity and simplicity. Honesty carries a man, on admiration are a long but still open demand , the whole, through the duties of life better than very curious contrast to , of smoky conceit the fumes s any other quality. The late Prince Consort was which clouded Mr. Jene's brows And so the even honest and loyal to his duties, and he recognised ing party slides away—the pianist getting more s e their special temptations. He met their subtlety by weary and utterly mechanical e his movements, equal subtlety of intellect 1 his decisions show ed the and more pro f ou ndly wooden-facets, as he plays result of deep thought and long pondering. But the last Sir Roger de Coverley, and the company this habit of mind has in its turn its dangers, espe- disperse. The marvel of the performance is cially to a public man. If the late Prince Consort the extraordinarily powerful impression left upon had not been loyal to his country, he might have the mind that the characters and faces we been a very dangerous i n t r iguer. He was too . have seen are all really genuine and distinct ;—the good to be dangerous, but his Character ha d all the inability to connect them with the black-suited gen e lementss of political skill and subtlety in it- If :be tleman, as we yet know, was the only person pre father's position had its temptations and snares, i n sent. It is, in its way, the most wonderful triumph his ease so happily Conquered' the sou's position is of powers of expression over plain material fact that scarcel less difficult, though upon oth er grounds. can well be conceived. The only machinery used yi The heir to the throne cannot be very prominent, s the symbolism of voice, gesture, and lines of ex and yet, if he is net in some sense a public man, pressio . n,—and to counteract all these is the physi his dotintry will Complain. Nd Man is the worse cal evidence of our senses that no one is there but for an apprenticeship to his calling ; but history Mr. John Parry in Mr. John Parry's ordinary dress, presents a catalogue of heirs apparent to thrones —and yet we carry away the keenest feeling of only who hate Certainly t idt leattied no* to rule by having see n Mr. John Parr y at the commencement political matters the and conclusion, and of havin g beheld in the interval their expectancy of rule. In p Prince of Wales may have, or rather must have, all kinds of invisible ladies and gentlemen, whose opinions, but a constraint l • upon is aid ' him not to characteristic gait and expressions there was nothing 8 of youth and to show us except the changing postures and lines express them. Yet the best year . opening manhood are but idly s pent tn . exclusive i _ in the actor's person and face. The feeling it pro devotion 's this , M r. life without its duces almosti , . Parry must himself get to the pursuits of country personal responsibilities. On every accoupnt! t h here- confused between his real and some of his fictitious s ee the Prince of c erecters. fore, the country will gladly Wales accepting, as he has already done, those op- THE " L ONDON REVIEW" ON " THE OWL" AND portunities,rare though they be,of identifying himself THE FRENCH EMPEROR.—For some time a mystery with some of those lofty public i n terests which have h as hung over certain small and humorous extracts made our and his England what it is. Among that have appeared, both in the Morning Post and those public interests—the common ground of all in the Tames, heeded with the significant title of educated and public men, in w hich party can have The Owl. What was The Owl? Where was its no place and selfish aggrandi sement is impossible— p l ace o f h a bit a ti on ? N o b o by seeme d t o know. literature stands, if not pee-eminent, at least very " Monsieur, perche apparemment," said M. Talley' , high. The Prince of Wales has been educated to rand to a lame gentleman who was boasting that he taste in art appreciate literature ; an hereditary in , never went to bed. Doubtless The Owl roosted be natural his and reverence for science m ustsomewhere, but it had no known locus standi. All father's son. If the Prince's sp here of usefulness that could be considered certain was that it was a and the range of his possible duties are but narrow, bird of audacious tendencies, and very much in the ' country will more thoroughly_l.appreciate d it is of thegood dined to make fun of her Majesty's Government. diligent cultivation of a scanty fiel d' This week, however, The Owl has won for it• hue been commenced omen that his public careerself an European reputation. Across the Channel, ae ' case conducted under auspices which, - ;e1 his fathers the Emperor's private secretary, M. Mocquard, Even thehonest desire to to public confidence.was alarmed by it, and hastily wrote to the French a re tread in his father's steps will be loyally pp papers to contradict the truth of what, in the kindred taste for letters, columns of The Cwl, never pretended to be more - better give princes friends whic h stand them in than an amusing joke. Sitting aloft on its p ost stead than the minions of fashion or the parasites of or perch of observation, the Owl, for some weeks, faction. Our real greatness depends, . not upon our has been retailing to the public every kind of State country which is not arms, but upon arts, and the material secret. The members of the Conference have been hold o great intellectually has but a poor hold n . taken off seriatim; Lord Russell has been depicted prosperity. That the Prince of Wales is disposed as he might demean himself when offering a remark highest sources of national - frankly to recognise the in German to M. von Beast ; and the world has been greatness is surely a matter for national congratu- even favoured with a pretended copy of the des letion. patches sent to the admiral of the Channel fleet. THE "SPECTATOR" ON Off . T N PARRY AND tom- u • • uring the last week, the mysterious bird of Minerva ROSELEAF'S EVENING PARTY. --Few people com- published a clever squib, purporting to be a letter paratively, we imagine, are aware how very extra- addressed to the Owl, by M. Mocquard, on the has been for some time ' sub ordinary an intellectual f eat sect o: the foreign policy of the Palm erston ian Mini nightly visible in London at oue of those evening stry. The Owl had not thought, we are told, hat of "entertainments" which is to a p la y what ne g us is p ublishin g at all for a fortnight; for it appears t to wine, or at which the drama loses half its evil the publication of the Owl is irregular, and depends by losing all its interest—the " Gallery of Illustra- on the sweet caprice of its editor. But when the tration." Yon have indeed to go through something lettcr—verbosa e t yran d is e pestoia—arrived from to arrive at it, for Mr. and Mrs. German Reed, the Tuileries, on the merite ei the sys'ern of "med while they provide no doubt all that a well-re g u- die and muddle, " the Owl felt it a sole yto Isted mind ought to expect at an evening's enter- reconsider its decision, and came ou t into da y li g ht tainment, and apparently suc ceed in entertainin g , u p on the s p ot. When Sydney Smith complained pendence of the vote be fully guaranteed, and proVided it establishes in an incontestalle manner whether the inha bitants of f!chleswig-Holstein consider themselves to be my subjects or subjects of the King of Denmark. Although I had resolved to quit 1F , 7 l no more, I should neverthe consent, in any case, to withdraw from to it '7:Ur-Mg the continuance of the vote, in order to take away all appearance of pressure, The love of the )sticlii! ,. .s for their independence is no empty 'caprice. Th possess the qualities and the resources 1111eett'ii:ry for their development, and only regret not to have been able to prove up to the present moment the energy of their will by taking part in the combats engaged for their cause. Let them l e only replaced in that state of defence in Whibil they were when Europe, and not Denmark, disarmed them, and they will prave by deeds that they know how to conquer and maintain their independence; I have not thought it sufficient to protest simply in the name of my own rights and those of my country against the violence that might be exercised against them, and to claim my due when the question was discussed. I thought it my duty to explain at the same time how the realisation of these rights corresponds to the wishes of the people, and how in respecting them the exigencies of justice and the conditions of a durable peace will be conciliated. The past attests that as long as the Schleswig-Holstein quarrel shall not be settled in a legal manner, it will never cease to re appear on battle-fields and in European congresses until ,hat day when full satisfaction shall have b3en given to Legitimate rights and to the national cause. Kiel, April 16, 1864. (Signed) FREDERIC. SPIEIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS. tueihnig less than a surgical operation would ever get ajoke into a flcotchman's head, he never pro bably thought that a Charivar: world pats muster among the crowned heads of Europe as a state paper. M. Mocquard's sense of the ridiculous must have been strangely swallowed up in the solemnity of his position. His excuse is the less, for not only is he mid to be familiar with English life, but he is also a man of letters. The only thing to be urged in his favour is the fact that his Imperial master so often is wont to burst upon the world with docu ments of alsimilar description, that perhaps MnMoc guard trembled lest Europa should be imposed upon hst a second forgery folk-wing so closely upon the k, forged Confederate despatch. It may pos sIZSI/ Ise—and may Lord Russell forgive us for the iiresterent suggestion !—that IVT. 'Moe guard and Napoleon HI, saw the joke them aelves, but were afraid, from an experience of the ih?ne.:'ll'eh Foreign Office, that the English Foreign Office might act :tee it. They were naturally anxious on account of Lord kinstell'e poor head. Politeness would render it impossible for them to assume in their diplomatic correspondence that the Queen's Ministers might again be taken in. Accordingly M. Mocquard sacrificed himself to the demon of Parisian persiflage in order to save Lord Russell from falling victim re another hoax. if this is the real explanation, it says a great deal for M. Mocquard's delicacy, We are afraid that the other solution of the difficulty will, however, be more generally received, and that the Imperial secretary is destined to run the gauntlet of the wits of France. He will be famous for all time for having composed a political comedy on the subject of Abda el-Kader,—for having introduced camels on to the French stage from the Jardin des Plantes, and for having mistaken the Owl for a newspaper of high political gravity. The Owl, after this, like the jester of King Louis, may abdicate and retire in peace, for the cap and bells belong elsewhere. M. Mocquard has vindicated his right to pass as the greater owl of the two. M. Mocquard's blunder lets us into a secret, and draws up for one moment the curtain that hangs over the Emperor's private cabi net. This gentleman is the author of a consider able portion of his Imperial Majesty's correspon dence. We now know what M. Mecquard thinks an Imperial letter at this crisis might be like. He has the making of them, and he ought to know ; and here we have what he acknowledges to be an ingenious and deceptive imitation. A genuine let ter should show, we may infer, a frank disregard of diplomatic etiquette. It should call attention to the fact that Napoleon 111. is not merely the most pacific, but the wisest and most dignified of princes. He alone is right and consistent in his policy; and through him France holds the arbitra ment of peace or war in the hollow of her hand. There is nothing the Emperor more thoroughly enjoys than patronising the English people. There is nothing he finds harder to accomplish than the maintaining his temper at the sight of English foreign policy. If the Owl has not hit the exact truth, it has gone uncommonly near it. What alarms M. Mocquard is, that his master's sentiments are proximately conveyed, and it did not easily occur to him that the Emperor's real opinions could have been inserted in an English comic periodical at a venture. If the Emperor never wrote what the Owl humorously put into his mouth, we may surmise, without risk of error, that he thinks and long has thought it. This is the only palliation for M. Mocquard's obtuseness to a joke. The joke in question was only a serious truth, expressed with an improbable absence of formality and etiquette. THE " EXAMINER" ON THE DANISH QUESTION. —We do not know whether the Danish quarrel may be considered as at an end. The Conference certainly has come to no set or formal conclusion, except so far as to consider the treaty of 1852 as no more. It has adjourned for ten days, till the 28th. But this proceeded not from disagreement, but on the contrary from a general though tacit understanding that a compromise was necessary, and was rendered imperative, not only by the posi tion of the contendirg parties but by the sentiments of the neutral Powers. Not one of them were pre pared to go the length of war. Such a compromise therefore, as the belligerent Governments, and the equally urgent belligerent populations would con sent to, became inevitable. We have before declared our disposition to see Holstein given to the Ger mans and Schleswig secured to the Danes. It seems, however, that the attempt to wrest the southern district of Schleswig from Holstein would lead to disturbance and re sistance, and would require the prolonged sojourn of armies upon the Eider. The Conference, there fore, or its members have, it is said, tacitly decided that a dividing line must be drawn north of the Eider. When and how that dividing line is to be drawn, remains an unsolved prob,em, and a pro blem, as we shall see, not very easy of adjustment. We had hoped better than this for the Danes_ But on the whole, if they lose but half a million of dis affected fellow-subjects, and cut off all pretext for any future interference on the part of the Germans, the Danes may congratulate themselves on being released with increased honour and scarcely dimi nished profits from an unequal contest. The Ger mans will have achieved, if they do take a southern bit of Slesvig, the conquest of both banks and the dominant approaches to Kiel harbour. They will have get, in short, the moon they have been crying for. The neat thing will be to go to a cooper's and order tubs enough to float the Fatherland that is presently going to be a great maritime people. The toy shops, it is „aid, are already preparing tenders for the German fleet of the Future, and a condi tional order for ships Ls already arrived at the S. Noah's Ark in Holborn. It was not easy, however, to arrive at a hope of this conclusion, and during the first sitting of the Conference the general im pression was ono of despair. When thC German Powers denounced the Treaty of 1852, ant when Russia and Denmark held it tenaciously, FraiSce remained silent. TheEaglish plenipotentiaries were at a less what to do. The German Powers went even eo far as to demand that their Diet be consia dered the fitting tribunal to decide the claim of succession. If the Treaty of 1852 were set aside, the German Powers might indeed pretend that the Diet had claims to decide respecting Holstein. But what had it to do with Slesvig ? If the dis pute was to be one of law and legal nicety, there was no issue but an appeal to force. A compromise suggested itself to all, And as that compromise is in favour of the Germans, the Danes certainly have shown praiseworthy for bearance in hearkening to it, and perhaps finally accepting it. The supposed firmness of the Danes was not, indeed, the only stumbling block. What was chiefly fes rad was the criminal obstinacy of von Bismark, who had conceived the idea of signalising his administration by keeping Slesvig and Holstein for Prussia. Such monstrous pretensions were in deed impossible of realisation—if anything monstrous is i tow impossible of realisation on the Continent of Euro pe _ssinch . tlaey would unite all Europe against them, if anytn:nz now can unite European Powers against rapine thin! does not immediately claim a pound or two of their Ovn flesh. But still feeble opponents of his robbery in , b eht have suggested to the cunning and unscrupulous Palissian Prime Mini ster the means and the expediency of adjourning the decision of the Congress, and finali; defeating its aim in order to prolong the military occupation of the duchies. This game, however, appeared too dangerous and barefaced to King William, who, it is said, incredible as it may seem, found it necessary to come round and abandon his own claim, lest Bis mark's folly should place Prussia at the ban of Europe, and produce a general coalition against her. Were Prussia wise she would limit her efforts for the present to commercial extension. She can do more by her Zollverein than ever she will be allowed to do by armies. Liberal commercial legislation, joined with liberal political administration, would make Prussia a great country. Military aggression in the present state of Europe will not profit her. There is indeed one important point of view is which this Slesvig and Holstein question has not been considered. It is the commercial. England receives half a million's worth of cattle from that region, besides corn and all kinds of provi sions, for which our manufactures go in exchange. Up to 1848 the tariffs of Denmark and the Duchies were different. In 1851 the one tariff was established, by which the rate of import duty into the Duchies was increased. We shall now see this undone: and probably Holstein will sooner or later join the Zollverein. Were she to do so after the acceptance and ratification of the man French Treaty of Commerce, there would b G e a dimi nution of tariff of well nigh 25 per cent. There are difficulties, to be sure, in the way of Holstein joining the German union, as long as Hamburg, Lubeck, Lauenburg, and the Meckleuburgs remain out of it. But, nation of shopkeepers as we are, these things do not enter into the public head. No journal has touched upon the subject, and it has been treated disinterestedly and as a simple question of public right and justice, without an allusion to figures, to the advantage or to the balance of trade. If Ger mans would but consider these facts, they woud abandon the charges which they make against us of narrowness and selfishness. The fact is, the English are a very earnest and right-seeking people, ready at every just opportunity to fling material interests to the wind. Not only material interests, but personal predilections, yield here to the sense of right, as has been seen in two great foreign quarrels by the small influence of our natural pre dilections for the Germans in Europe or the men of the North, with whom our natural sympathies are strongest, in America. THE JA.W-BONE OF AN Ass has done rior ck• struction in this country than. it ever did is the hanag Samson.—Americali paper. . . Thunderstorms, The thunderstorai of Friday, which appears& to have been pretty general all over the country, visited the ceasta , o: Northumberland and Durham with unprecedented -vio— lence, and during several hours of the busiest portion of the day caused considerable alarm in the principal towns of the district. It broke over Bernick a little after midnight, and continued with brief intervals until 3 o'clock in the after— noon. The storm burst over the towns on the Tyne later, about 9 o'clock in !the forenoon, with vivid flashes of lightning and rolling thunder, accompanied by a deluge of rain ; the lightning doing a very considerable amount of injury in that district between 9 and 10 o'clock, About the time mentioned a labourer, who had been employed draining in a field at Prospect-hill, Beare• North Shields, was making his way along the waggon way • there to obtain shelter in the engine-house, when he was struck by the lightning and killed upon the spot. There were several persons near him at the time, but none of them were hurt. The unfortunate deceased, whose name is Oswald Gibson, had been struck above the right ea.r, the lightning having passed down his left side and leg, wi , ich were completely stripped. Ilis clothes were torn, and pieces lof them were scattered about the spot w here the d ecea sed • fell. About the same time that this accident occurred a farm labourer named Foster, belonging to Fife-street, Mount Pleasant, Gateshead, was employed rolling a field. belonging to a small farmer named Elder, near to Wreck- ington. He had loosed his horses when the storm came on, and was returning to the village of Wreckington with his horses yoked to a cart, about 10 o'clock in the forenoon, when he was struck by lightning, and killed instantly. One of the horses was also killed, and the other much injured. Dense masses of black clouds continued to pass over North umberland and Durham until 2 o'clock in the afternoon, the lightning at times being very vivid. Several houses were injured in Newcastle and Shields by the lightning striking them. Several persons had narrow escapes in these towns, but none were seriously hurt. About 4 minutes before 1 o'clock, while a thunderstorm was passing over North Shields, the time gun, with which a fusee had been con nected in anticipation of the time baing sent down L-ora Greenwich at 1 o'clock, was fired by the lightning. A tele graph post on the highway side at ',Lowden was shattered te. fragments, and at the same place the lightning struck otae of the wires and travelled into the River Tyne Commission ers' office, smashing an iron box. At South Stockton thee lightning lifted the roof of a house, and a widow woman. named Walters, aged 75, was so shaken that she was not expected to recover. So severe a thunderstorm has not been experienced on the north-eastern coast during many years. The rain which accompanied tho thunder and lightning have had a wonderfully reviviag effect upon the crops,lwhich now look remarkably fresh and green. In the North Riding the extraordinary heat of the last 7 days culminated on Friday afternoon in one of the moot terrific storms ever experienced. About noon dense masses of black cumuli gathered in the south-west, and gradually overspread the heavens until all was so dark that gas had to be resorted to for some hours. About 3 o'clock, the storm broke out, its greatest fury being spent on the north side of the great vale of Pickering, taking the iines of the towns of Helmsley, Kirby, Sinnington, Pickerington, &c. The lightning and the thunder were s;multaneous, and several persons speak to having seen ball lightning, and also to having seen the forked lightning pass horizontally along . the sky from one cumulus to another. The track of the storm was to the north•east, and for some hours along the course indicated the clouds poured down a very deluge. The roads and fields were at once flooded, and the streams from the various moor-vallies rose with unexampled ra pidity into raging torrents, carrying down trees and rocks along with them. Kirkdale-bridge, a wooden structure l fairly bent with the pressure against it, and a gentleman had there a very narrow escape for his life. Between Gill amoor and Kirby, Mr. Jackson, a well-known cattle dealer, was driving, and it is believed was disabled by the light ning. His horse ran away and upset the conveyance, Mr. Jackson being powerless. He died in a few hours. In the same locality several cheep were killed under a tree. Hail stones as largo as nuts fell for some time, and at Sproxton, near Helmsley, and at Allerston, near Pickering, the de struction of glass is reported very great. On Saturday morning the rivers Rye and Derwent, which the previous afternoon were lower than for many years, were found to have filled to the top with floodwater, and in places about Kirby Mills, Marton, Sinnington, and Howe, the roads are submerged. The hail and rain have done great damage to crops. Fruit and even the leaves are cut off the trees, crops are washed up, and gr ass lands are covered with mud in some places. Early potatoes are cut down. The Wolds seemed to attract the southern portion of the storm, but the rain that fell there did not do any damage, but much good. Singularly enough some parts of the Howardian range did not get a , drop of rain, although the valleys on either side were being deluged. On Saturday night the rivers were still rising• but it was thought they would not overflow to any exteett. It is stated in the Scotsman of Saturday that in Edin burgh rain began to fall heavily in the city, and continued. almost without intermission up till an advanced hour in the evening. Distant peals of thunder were heard at intervals during the day, and occasional flashes of lightning were seen—but the storm seems to have raged more furiously in. the direction of Selkirk and Peebles. Our correspondent at the former place writes :—" A thunderstorm of conside able violence passed over this town yesterday. Distant peals were heard during the forenoon, and about midday there was a strange and sudden change in the wind, which for a time blew in v iolent and fitful gusts from all points of the compass. A heavy thunder-cloud approached from the south, and about a dozen peals were heard as it passed over the town. Rain, mixed with large hailstones, fell in tor rents during the height of the storm. The wind afterwards settled in the west, and rain fell in moderate and refresh ing showers during the afternoon." From Peebles we learn that that town was yesterday visited by a thunderstorm more violent than any that has yet been experienced in the district for many years back. It set in about 11 o'clock and continued almost unceasingly for about two hours, and wall heard at intervals during the after part of the day. The heavy rain which fell flooded the streets. At Kelso, also , the storm was experienced, thunder having been heard during the greater part of the day, accompanied in the afternoon by a copious fall of rain. COUNTRY MARKETS. YORK-- SAT U RDAY. There was only a moderate supply of wheat at markat to-day, with a limited attendance. Sellers held out for late rates, but they were with difficulty made. Barley wag scarce, with a slow business. Oats also scarce, and with an inactive demand. Beans in fair demand, and racsut rates fully made. Wheat, red 37s to 39s Oats.... lBs to 35 3 White do .40s to 44s Beans 33.., to 3 Barley Malt, 58s to 60s per qr. ; rye, 28s per qr.; flour, 2 78 to 29s per sack. GRANTHAM—SATURDAY. Old white: wheat,:42B to 44s ; red, 37s to 40s per 365 t.; new white, 42s;to 44s ; red, 38s to 40s. Malting barley, 33s to 36s per qr ; grinding, 28s to 308; oats, old, 23a 265; new, 20s to24s; beans, 34s to 365; peas, 34s to 368. LE ICE STRa—SATURDAY. We have again to report another week of highly favour° able weather. There was a f a ir show of wheat at mar ket to-day ; prices same as last week, with a limited business.. —New white wheat, 42 s t o 45 5 ; red, 38s to 41s per 3t' stone. Old red, 38s to 42s per 36 stone. Barley, maltiDgt new, 33s to 36s per qr.; grinding, 28s to 30s; old oats, 28s to 30s; new oats, 21s to 24s per 24 stone. . Beaus) old, 40s to 42s per 38 stone ; flour, 26s to 31s per 20 atone. NORWICH—SATURDAY. There was a liberal supply of wheat to-day, and prices were the same as on this day se'nnight. The dem and ruled dull. Beans, barley, peas, and oats wera at former rates, with a slow trade, White wheat. 42s to 445 1 Red wheat 38s to 40a to 34a Malting barley ...35s to 36s I Chevalier barley .. • 33 • Distilling d 0..... 29s to 30s Oats. Flour, 25a Od to 26s Od per sack from the miller 24s to 26/ N OT T IN Gil AM -S ATTJILD '! A somewhat limited show of wheat to-day, with a mode. rate demand, and late prices were nearly supported. Tha show of barley was exceedingly small, and little business was transacted at about the rates of last week. Oat s were disposed of slowly. Beans active, at fully former prices. —White wheat, from 37s to 40s; red wheat, 368 to 39e. Barley—malting, 30s to 37s ; grinding, 27s to 295. OaU , old, at 24s to 303 Od ; new, 19s to 255. Beans sold at 3 31 to 428:per qr. ; new, 35s to 375. DUBLIN—FRIDAY. all The attendance to-day was thin. A. slow trade for articles, and unaltered in price. s. d. s. d. Wheat, white.. 24 0 to 26 6 Do., red .. 21 6 to 24 0 Do., new 0 to 0 Barley Oats Do., black — 0 to - - 0 d s. d. s• ' Oatmeal Ber 10 otol3 0 Beans..--ens .•••• oto --- ° 0 Rapeseed Bakers' flour l4 0 to 0 0 Indian corn _... Births. JONES.—On the 18th inst., at Cranmer Hall, Norfolk; 613 wile of Sir Willoughby Jones, Bart., of a son. . PELLY.—On the 21st inst., at Gastons, the wife of Justin ls Peily, Esq., of a son. Marriages. e n r elt GEORGALA—IONIDES.—On the 21st inst., at the %--- • Church, London-wall, Spiridion Georgala, E:4l. l fr ive o "f pool. to Maria eldest daughter of E. C. lonides, -b" 9 " 51, Inverness-terrace. S"' WILLS—HARVARD.—Oa the 19th inst., at All ? Langharu-plate, Cuthbert Wills, Esq., H.M. Cu st T to Lmtitia Mary, only daughter of Edw inlHawaral I\l ' ' t 28, Harley-street, Cavendish-square, Deaths. BEACH—On the 19th inst., at Oakley Hall, Agnf t s line, intent daughter of W. W. Beach, Esq., M. „ A r BENYON—On the 19th inst., at Stetchworth - p ark, n ew Newmarket, aged 64, deeply regretted by all Who k° him, Samuel Yate Benyon, Esq. roilY BISHOP—On the 20th inst., deeply regretted by his -30 y, and friends, Mr. James Bishop, of LilyPot -13u8 ' aged 65. DOLLMAN—On the 20th inst., at Prestbury Cottage) Che tenham, John Dolltuan, Esq., aged 32. !,ondon : Prinz ed and Prbltshed by WILL IA AI A NI) 3 of No. 112, Strand, Printer, at Tux SUN Office No* „i Strand. In the Precinct. of the Savoy, n Contil Rid :e May 23, 18i*.